Gr 6-8-The Crusaders-often icons of valor and derring-do in Robin Hood legends-were harbingers of terror and imminent death for medieval Jews. Elvina, granddaughter of the revered 11th-century French rabbi and commentator Rashi, takes center-stage in this novel in which readers experience the period through Jewish eyes. The otherwise fascinating plot proceeds somewhat erratically in chapters that alternate, but not consistently, between the 12-year-old's first-person communications with her imaginary guardian angel, Mazal, and a third-person narrative. While her mother is helping a friend through childbirth, Elvina becomes the woman of the house, frustratingly trying to balance her love of reading and writing and long, philosophical talks with her beloved grandfather with female responsibilities that she really doesn't want. When news that the illiterate Crusaders are heading through Troyes en route to Jerusalem to destroy the infidels (Muslims), the Jews know that they are in equal danger. While their leaders try to appease the marauders, Elvina stumbles on a young deserter who is hiding because he wants to study with priests rather than fight. Through a series of believable coincidences, the act of helping him becomes the catalyst for saving the community. Though occasionally uneven writing (or translating) keeps readers from being riveted, descriptions of traditions are well done and informative. Elvina's story brings a time, a place, and a people long ignored to life, but the novel may find a limited audience.-Mary R. Hofmann, Rivera Middle School, Merced, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
In France in the year 1096, everyone in the Jewish community is terrified of the Crusaders, who have been known to burn Jewish houses in the name of religion.
Elvina, the funny, feisty, twelve-year-old granddaughter of the great rabbi Rashi, knows how to read and write-very rare for a girl of her time. She draws strength from this, as well as from her guardian angel, to whom she speaks constantly. Then one cold Sabbath afternoon while Elvina is alone in the house, three soldiers pound on her door. One of them is wounded. Elvina has only a moment to make a difficult choice that could put her family and the entire community at risk. Can her guardian angel guide her now?
Winner of the Prix Sorcieres, France's most prestigious award for children's literature, this is a story of compassion and tolerance that speaks to people of all faiths.
In France in the year 1096, everyone in the Jewish community is terrified of the Crusaders, who have been known to burn Jewish houses in the name of religion.
Elvina, the funny, feisty, twelve-year-old granddaughter of the great rabbi Rashi, knows how to read and write-very rare for a girl of her time. She draws strength from this, as well as from her guardian angel, to whom she speaks constantly. Then one cold Sabbath afternoon while Elvina is alone in the house, three soldiers pound on her door. One of them is wounded. Elvina has only a moment to make a difficult choice that could put her family and the entire community at risk. Can her guardian angel guide her now?
Winner of the Prix Sorcieres, France's most prestigious award for children's literature, this is a story of compassion and tolerance that speaks to people of all faiths.
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940169909821 |
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Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
Publication date: | 01/01/2006 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Age Range: | 8 - 11 Years |
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